Mac & Cheese with Hot Dogs

My mom made a cheese sauce a few years ago that I absolutely loved – velveeta, sour cream, and ranch dressing (or dry ranch dip mix).  I have been making it ever since and love to toss with pasta to make some Mac and Cheese.  You take about 8 oz. of velveeta, mix with about 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream and about 3-4 T ranch dressing (or 1/2 packet dry ranch dip mix).


I chopped some green peppers and added them to the boiling water for about one minute while cooking the pasta.  To up the protein, I added in a Smart Ones hot dog.  Yummy!  The cheesy/ranch sauce gives it a new twist – the only issue is that velveeta congeals pretty quickly, so you have to eat it fast J

“Chili” Cheese “Dog”

I must tell you  – I have never had a Chili Cheese Dog.  Alas, when I was a kid, I liked my hot dogs with a slice of American cheese, ketchup, and mustard.  No chili.  I was walking through Trader Joe’s and saw that they had a can of Vegetarian Chili (organic too) – so I started thinking about it.  Could I?  Should I?  The answer – YES!  Well, this chili is probably not the best for hot dogs – what with all the beans, but that’s okay.  It was nice to try something new.  I used a Martin’s Long Roll (love Martin’s – plus it’s made in my hometown) and topped the dog and chili with shredded Mexican cheese.  Overall, tasty and I’ll probably do it again J

Brandywine Brewing Company - Greenville, DE

Love, love, love this restaurant.  We go at least once every two months (and we don’t repeat a lot of restaurants).  I’ve had a few of their plates, but this time I chose a sandwich that was on Special – not so good – I forget what it was called, but the sauce on it just didn’t work.  And, actually, they took my favorite sandwich off of the menu (grilled vegetables with goat cheese, yum, yum).  I definitely recall their Hot Soft Pretzels – so tasty – and apple mustard is delish (the hot horseradish was too hot for me – I don’t like the feeling of my sinuses being cleared with one quick taste).  I do recommend this restaurant for vegetarians because they have a number of options and great service.  Not to mention a full beer selection!

http://www.bbctavernandgrill.com/




9/8/2011 Update:

On our most recent trip to BBC, we decided to get the Hot Soft Pretzels as an appetizer.  Very chewy, but not buttery (like an Auntie Anne's pretzel).  That plays well with the two specialty mustard sauces - the apple mustard is very good, not too much of an apple flavor and not too much of a mustard flavor.  The horseradish sauce was hotter when we had it a year ago (or my taste buds are changing).  I can still only take just a little bit, but the horseradish isn't enough to burn my nostrils :-)

I decided to have the Warm Goat Cheese and Spinach Salad as my entrée.  The goat cheese is in multiple pieces, which I like (as compared to one big piece in the middle).  The salad came topped with candied walnuts, sundried tomatoes and cranberries, and some red onion.  All of these helped add a good crunch factor to the soft spinach and goat cheese.  The dressing was surprisingly tasty.  I'm not a fan of maple, but mixed as a maple sherry vinaigrette - yum!

For dessert, I shared the Lava Cake with Strawberry Sauce with my husband.  Overall, tasty, warm, and full of chocolate - just what I need at the end of a good meal!

Public House Wilmington

http://www.publichousewilmington.com/menus.php

My fiancée and I joined two friends for a lunch at Public House.  The weather was nice and the Wilmington Grand Prix was in progress, so we were able to enjoy our meals outside. 

 I love butternut squash, so I ordered that salad (mixed greens, candied pecans, shaved red onion, aged gouda with maple vinaigrette) – there was so much gouda!  Not a bad thing.  I am not a fan of maple, but the vinaigrette was not overpowering and worked with the salad.  The pecans and red onion gave it a nice crunch.  

For my entrée, I ordered the Blackened Shrimp Pasta – sans shrimp.  The gemelli pasta is mixed with asparagus tips and tomatoes, topped with a creole cream sauce.  I checked first to make sure that the sauce was vegetarian (it is!).  The pasta was okay – I actually added more Cajun Seasoning to my leftovers (there were at least two more servings in addition to the one I ate at lunch).  I don’t think I would order it again.  Maybe next time I’ll just stick to the salad and perhaps a side.